Letters to the Editor

"War in Iraq"??? It ended on an aircraft carrier with "Mission Accomplished"!

Kudos to the local TV station for positioning a reporter outside the 4th Street post office on April 15. What a strategic place to pin down the people of Bend and ask some hard-hitting questions about taxes! I approached the reporter to offer my view: Paying taxes sucks when nearly 50% goes to military spending and not even 5% goes to education and social services.

Letter of the Week 
In reaction now to the news about Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man in Bend, I offer some thoughts that have come out of conversations I've had over the last few weeks.
It doesn't matter how you feel about the issues of gender, sexuality and fertility, but I respect the Beaties' courage to stand up and put themselves and their lives in the spotlight. People have wondered why they are doing it. Why? Because! Because nothing will ever change, wrongs will not be righted, until someone has the courage to be out there in the open and help clear the way for others.

In response to your article about Trader Joe's: No – people in Bend or Portland or California are not crazy … they just LOVE their Trader Joe's!!!
Maybe it's a little bit of nostalgia on the part of California ex-pats (of which I am one), but it's also the fact that the company has been able to offer – on a consistent basis – the most diverse, interesting and healthy foods around – at incredibly low prices!

Way to go Source! You really scooped the "other Bend publication" with your story about Ray Perry, the ODOT employee who was fired for coming forward with the misdeeds of ODOT.
I'd like to let Sen. Ben Westlund know he earned my vote for his bid as state treasurer. I am so happy to see that there is an elected official out there who will stand up for the little guy.
And what is up with ODOT's spokesman, Peter Murphy? He referred to Sen. Westlund as "just another person"! I don't ever recall Sen. Westlund implying that he is any better than the rest of us, but I do believe he was elected by a majority of us taxpayers - twice - to represent and look out for our best interest. I think his testifying at Mr. Perry's hearing is proof he is living up the taxpayers' expectations.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" – except homosexuals! Hypocrisy epit-omized.
Article I, Section 1, Oregon Constitution: "Natural rights inherent in people. We declare that all men, when they form a social compact are equal in right" – except homosexuals! Hypocrisy and prejudice epitomized.

It's hard to believe that an agency as "upstanding" as ODOT would hire a spokesman who is more arrogant than Peter Murphy. But then again, the person who is your spokesman is your mouthpiece, so it stands to reason that Mr. Murphy's comment that Sen. Ben Westlund is "just another person" is also how ODOT feels.
The arrogance of these people is astounding! The fact that Sen. Westlund was the head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that ODOT has to go to for money makes him NOT "just another person." Mr. Murphy should be referring to an elected official with much more respect. The implication here is that Sen. Westlund has no more credit than Joe Blow down the block, and he's "just another person."

Saddle Up, Bend

Recently an article about how to save money in Bend during the summer months caught my eye. Another bike rider was hit pretty hard by the craigslist rants and raves, as is typical from those overly large humans out there who drive their SUVs. All the person was saying to those people who live close to work, burn some calories, get the heart racing, make less visits to the overpaid doctors, etc. I run into so many overweight women who complain that gym rates are too high. They have no time to work out but they have time to go to their favorite bar and eat. OK, let's work out the math people. The average car holds roughly 16 gallons of gasoline and medium unleaded costs $3.33 and this equates to $53.28 per fill. Now if you were to use a tank of gas per week this will run you $213.12 per month now multiply this by 12 and it will be in the ballpark of $2,557. This kind of extra income could be used for a vacation for your family, schooling, bills, food etc.

I just wanted to respond to your "WTF" article in your most recent (edition). Northwest and Pine Marten will be closing on the 20th. However the important part that you left out of your story is that the mountain will remain open until its "traditional closure" operating out of Sunrise Lodge and running the Sunrise and Summit lifts.